Cleat



P. L. HUDGINS Oct. 6 i925.

CLEAT Filed gan. 5, 1925 llllLlllll device which will:i discouragejand theft 'from railway vfreightv ears-1 and. tfoithls jed I `prop-ose :an improvedcleat! forlrsecur- 20 Vparts yof Patented Oct. 6, 1925.

fermesaangename'6r naenenfeeneu.

@innemen "fne'dJmiarys, 1925. semi :1120. risse.

f Grits; acitizen5 vofthe United; Stated` residing at --Decatur,

State 'ofi Georgia, have invented 'certain v'new in the county l' of De Kalb. and

"do herebyfd'ecl'are thefol-'lowing tobe a full,

clear,V andeaotdescriptionY 'of the invention,

such as'will "enf'able-VV othersskilled i ini the art t'o vrliic'h it? appertains tfomake :and use ythe Same.'

The present invention? relates to improvements 1n oleatsand has particular reference Anbject of the invention is to providel a prevent `ng the 'oardoor' closed 4which :willi-ber inaccessible either from? the groundk for` fromi the roof ofthe careXcept-'when the car isfstandingata loading for"discharging.'platform, "whereupon an authorized lperson standing fon the platformwillhave easy." access to the same. y v

Withltheforegoing fand otherwobjects in view, thefi-nvention 'will-*be more-fullyidescribed hereinafter, and ticu-larlypointed out in theclaims appended 1 hereto. y

' V In the drawings, wherein Vlikesyrnb'oisgre- YYfer `to like or correspon'dingzparts throughf out fthe several views,

lfragmentary "side View i ylof a railway car with the improved devise 4"tl1e1e1f1.

`j Figure 1 shows a Figure -2 is an enlarged'view :showing the door and;y ear :body 'with ;t`he idevice applied *thereto andztpartly shownin section.

Figure-1B is a:viewtalieniatv right angles to Figure 2 and showing the car body in section with the device in locked position.

Figure 4 is a cross section taken through parts of the door and oar body through the improved device with the latch member moved out of locked position, and

Figure 5 is a section taken on line 5*-5 in Figure 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings 6 indicates the side of a car or the car body and 7 the usual horizontal sliding door found on standard freight cars.

In accordance with the present invention the car door` along one edge is provided with @of `only la sma; narrow easing. latch member: isipreferably largeg andl wide 41 toavoidtoeagreata movement t latch-ing direction The rippen-part Qfthe glatchcmember is ff narrower v-ajnd ex-,tends vthrough'f the-slot i ll-inv fthelowler wallfof i the casng. A laterallyenlarged-iwal? yis made the lower projecting end-g of the-latch Y lower part of the recess a recess 8 for the reception of the casing9 y This latch member extends itially in Vthe easing andisfadpled 5190 vstantially through ithe f central part thereef. The pivot lf bolts extend f through "0.116 fieig aand.- is.- provided fwthr the ."Wiisher 'nlllfllltrl-Q fto holdthe coil spring- 1,3A in plceupon'the i bolt" and .pon the'exterior ofi-theibQtQilfportion. of the casing. This 'sprilag hOllS f the latch member;10ffrictionally; against the; interror .ofthe-'bottom -ivallroffthefeasingyand .ftends to resisttheeswinging movementfthere- 4of except I`when; positively .@pnehedby llend- The bottom of thecasingijsyheld awayfrjom theizbottom ofrthe-receSSfS byi-,theruse .ofthe sleeves 14 which extend about thmfastening e members-15. 4fTleesegf;astei-l1ng memberslhave iheads: countersunkf-in tlfieibottorn of the-casling andi; .ass-through fthepacingsleeves e and into-t ,ercar door.

a-'Ehe'fjspacingsleevesrsurroundthe ,festenmgfmembersbetweenithebottom ef the re- 4fcess; y8.. andgthegbOttQm .iQf ,therxedlgf .9- In thisfwayethe easingjfslbeld;away: ,frein the bottoini of i' the reeeSS-fto 2 leave ample room for the projecting pivot Ebelt- 111-v lhe casing: 9 f--sranarrowcene, relen'gted in vejtiealifdirectinn and :the/ latch mem- (fberf, 1o islsifibstantallyfwide so astwpermit The upperY and `rof Y,the

sensato aeta-as-afstfep 'instriking-:meaning wall when in the position shown gure upon member and plays back and forth in the 8 below the casing. This lug 17 provides a convenient grasp by which to rock the member 10 back and forth and it is provided with a hole 18 to register with the hole 19 when the member l() is in the locked position. Through these holes is adapted to be passed the cord 20, the ends of which are secured in the seal 21. The latch member 10 is provided with the extension nose 22 projecting toward the car body and provided with the under out notch 23 for engaging about the stirrup or yoke 24. This latter yoke is afliXed in the llroekng. increment fin the out. Y

`form` a platform.

recess 25 of the car body so that the cross piece of the yoke, with which the4 slotted nose 22 engages, extends out from the base of the recess 25 and freely tof be engaged by the nose.v Nuts or other fastenings 2G are. employed to hold the yoke piece in place.

At 27 is shown a slotin the side wall vof the casing to permit the nose 22 to play in and The -calsing is closed Anormally by the swinging `cover plate 28 suspended from the bolt'29 passing through the upper part-v thereof and through a perforated boss 30 upstanding from the casing. The nut and washer 31 upon the inner end of the bolt 29 is used to hold the coil spring 32 in place.

This coil spring exerts a tension on the cover plate and tendsto hold it frictionally `wherever placed. The 'cover plate is provided with lugs 33 adapted to enter depres- 1 sions in the upper edge of the casing when vthe cover plate is in closed position. These Y lugs will move out of the recesses by the application of slight force and the cover plate may move outwardly compressing the spring 32. i Y

In the use of the device, the latch member 10 is swung into the position shown in- Figure 3 where the nose 22 engages with the stirrup and locks the car door 7 in the closed position shown in Figure l. The seal is put in place and the cover plate closed.

This `operation takes place after loading by an authorized employee. The device is placed near the upper edge of the door and y is nine feet from the ground and about four or five feet from the top of the car so that it is inaccessible to thieves standing upon the ground or reaching'down from the top of the car. It is also sunk flush in with the isfdificult to get at unless using a ladder whereupon the thief immediately becomes conspicuous. v i

Bower/er, the device is easily accessible one authorized so to do when the car reaches its destination, the latch member is'thrown back to the position shown in Figure 4;y and the door 7 may be opened.

The seal is broken byv 4It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of v,construction and `design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:-

l. In combination with a freight car havingra vsliding door with a recess therein, a casing carried in said recess spaced from the bottom of the recess, al pivoted latch member in the casing, spring means behind the casing for pressing the .latch member against the casing, means whereby said latch member may be sealed in latched position, a cover plate for said casing land recess, and means carried by the car body for cooperating with the' latch member to hold the door in closed position. f

2. In combination with a railway freight car having a sliding door with a recess therein nearits upper'edge, a casing fitted in said recess, means to hold the casing away from the bottom of the recess, a latch member in said casing, a bolt passing through the casing and latch member, spring'means for drawing said bolt and latch member against the casing, means for sealing said latch member, a notched nose on said latch member adapted to Vproject beyond the casing and door, and means on the car body for receiving said notched nose. Y

3. In combination with a railwayfreight car having a sliding door with a recess thereon7 a casing in the recessmeans for holding the casing away from the bottom of the recess, the lower wall of said casing having a slot therein, a latch member pivoted in said casing with its lower end extending through said slot, a lateral lug on said extending end having a perforation, said casing having a perforation to aline with the first named perforation, a sealing member adapted to pass through said perforations, and means on the car body for cooperating with the latch member.

IATRIOK LEE HUDGINS, 

